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2009 RACE NEWS |
ROYAL LONDON 360 SUPERSTOCK RACE
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DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR HUTCHINSON AT TT2009 -Ian Hutchinson wins Royal London 360 Superstock title to his earlier Relentless Supersport 1 race win
Ian Hutchinson made it two wins in the day when he won a sensational Royal London 360◦ Superstock race on his Padgetts Honda, defeating Guy Martin by 8.77 seconds. That doesn’t tell the whole story though and for the majority of the race the race lead was never more than one second with the first lap alone seeing four different leaders whilst the lap record was smashed repeatedly. The race also saw Jenny Tinmouth become the fastest female ever to have lapped the Mountain Course when she lapped at 116.483mph on her final lap, beating Maria Costello’s 2004 lap by 17.72 seconds.
It looked like Martin was going to take his first ever TT win when he led by 3 seconds at Glen Helen on the third lap but by the end of the lap his lead had been whittled down to an almost unbelievable 0.04seconds! Hutchinson had lost time at his pit stop when the filler cap wouldn’t go in but he absolutely flew on the last lap and, having broken the lap record on the second lap, he smashed it even further on the final lap with a speed of 129.746mph. Martin had to settle for second once more and Keith Amor took third to make it an identical 1-2-3 to the earlier Supersport race.
The 6.30pm start meant that cooler conditions were very much the order of the day but they were ideal for racing and it was Amor on his Wilson Craig Honda who set the initial pace, leading at Glen Helen on the first lap albeit by just one second. John McGuinness was in second just ahead of Padgetts team-mate Hutchinson and Conor Cummins on the McAdoo Kawasaki but pre-race favourites Bruce Anstey and Guy Martin were down in 8th and 9th respectively.
As the field completed their first lap, McGuinness had seized the lead from Hutchinson and Amor with Martin charging up to fourth. Anstey pulled in though to compound a truly miserable day with Michael Dunlop also an early retirement, adding to his earlier DNF in the Supersport when he stopped at Snugborough.
The difference between the top 4 was only 2.39 seconds but as they approached half distance the race was turning in to a two-way fight between Hutchinson and Martin. The Yorkshire rider had a two-second lead as they came in to refuel, both riders having smashed the lap record. McGuinness was suffering from tyre problems though and had a major slide at Greeba Bridge, his charge dented as he slipped back to 4th. Ryan Farquhar was out of luck once more, retiring at Cronk ny Mona on the second lap.
Hutchinson’s pit-stop problems meant Martin took over once more, his lead now 3 seconds, with Amor continuing to hold station in third although it was now Steve Plater up to fourth as McGuinness slipped further back. By Ramsey, Martin’s lead was just 0.3 seconds as Hutchinson really began to charge and they were almost dead level as they started their final lap, the gap just 0.05seconds after 113 miles of racing!
The race was very much on the knife edge, and one of the best ever witnessed at the TT, but Hutchinson was proving unstoppable and an amazing final lap of 129.746mph saw him take both the win and the lap record, his third TT win in total. Martin had to settle for the bridesmaid spot once more with Amor in third with a near 129mph lap.
Plater and McGuinness took fourth and fifth for the Padgetts team, Hondas again filling the top five positions, with Conor Cummins having a good ride into sixth. The top ten was completed by Gary Johnson, Carl Rennie and Daniel Kneen, again performing brilliantly, in tenth.
As well as Tinmouth’s feats, the race also saw three of the newcomers break the 120mph barrier. Steve Mercer, Luis Carreira and Ben Wylie all achieved the mark with the former taking the best lap at 121.362mph.
Today’s results mean that Ian Hutchinson has surged to the top of the leaderboard in the race for the Joey Dunlop Trophy, which will be awarded this year to the rider with the most points accumulated from the five solo races. Guy Martin is second in the championship with John McGuinness a point ahead of Steve Plater in third with 47 points from the three races to date.
Phil Wain |
RELENTLESS SUPERSPORT RACE 1
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Ian Hutchinson won a dramatic Relentless Supersport race today after long time race leader Bruce Anstey was forced to retire towards the end of the final lap after his bike had a broken wire at the back of the amplifier which stopped charging the battery
Anstey had a ten-second lead going into the fourth lap but was reported to have stopped at Brandywell and Hutchinson grabbed the opportunity with both hands, coming home just under seven seconds clear of Guy Martin and Keith Amor with Honda again filling the top 5 places.
With dry, sunny conditions again bathing the Island, it was Anstey, keen to make amends for Monday’s Superbike retirement, who stole the early advantage and he was just over a second clear of Martin at Glen Helen with Ryan Farquhar slotting into third. By the end of the lap though, Martin had forged ahead with a lap of 125.375mph and he was 2.7seconds clear of Hutchinson who had now demoted Anstey to third, less than four seconds covering the trio.
However, Anstey was getting in to his stride and tore around the Mountain Course to shatter his own lap record with a stunning lap of 126.549mph and he was able to turn his deficit into a near 7-second advantage. Hutchinson and Martin had also lapped in excess of 125mph with Keith Amor moving up to fourth after he too broke the old lap record with a speed of 125.608mph. Anstey though seemed to be making the race his won and many eyes were now focused on the battle for second.
A strong third lap, including a rapid pit stop, saw the Kiwi’s lead stretch to 10.07seconds and he, Hutchinson and Amor were now circulating in close formation and at high speed, thrilling the fans lining the course. Martin had caught Steve Plater on the road and was still holding onto third from Amor whilst Monday’s Superbike race winner John McGuinness was down in sixth.
All Anstey had to do was sit with Hutchinson and the race was his and this he duly did, continuing to hold on to his advantage over Hutchinson as they passed through Ramsey for the final time. However, the Suzuki rider was missing at the Bungalow and news came through that he had stopped at Brandywell, the problem eventually diagnosed as a broken wire on the amplifier. Hutchinson couldn’t afford to relax his pace on the Padgetts Honda though and a final lap of 125.726mph saw him claim his second TT victory.
Martin took second and was again inside the old lap record although it later transpired that he’d done half of the race with a blown head gasket. Amor was only 1.19seconds behind Martin at the chequered flag and he finally had the chance to stand on the podium after missing out last year due to Anstey’s post-race exclusion.
Plater was disappointed to have finished fourth whilst McGuinness had to settle for fifth on this occasion with Farquhar the first non-Honda rider home in sixth, pleased to complete the race after his retirement the day before.
Ian Lougher, Gary Johnson, William Dunlop and Conor Cummins completed the top ten whilst there were also strong performances by local rider Dan Kneen in 11th and American Jimmy Moore in 14th. The three best newcomers were Ben Wylie, Michal Dokoupil and Rico Penzkofer in 29th, 32nd and 33rd respectively, all three lapping well in excess of 118mph..
The result means that it’s Hutchinson who currently leads the standings for the Joey Dunlop Trophy overall champion with 38 points, the new TT championship points system for the highest points scorer across the five solo classes.
Phil Wain
Joey Dunlop Trophy (after 2 races) 1 Ian Hutchinson – 38 points 2 Guy Martin – 36 points = John McGuinness – 36 points 4 Steve Plater – 33 points 5 Gary Johnson – 19 points 6 Ian Lougher – 18 points
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